


Homegrown Crops of the Wasteland: Fleur-de-lys of the Future - Chapter Two

by Maple_Tartan



Series: Homegrown Crops of the Wasteland: The True North [2]
Category: Fallout (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Montreal, chambly, conquer, fort, ronto, treaty, unity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-10-22 20:53:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10704888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maple_Tartan/pseuds/Maple_Tartan
Summary: As the small settlement of Fort Chambly grows, they encounter their much larger neighbour, Ronto.





	Homegrown Crops of the Wasteland: Fleur-de-lys of the Future - Chapter Two

Snow piled up on the ramparts of the Fort, freezing the walkway. Sam leant on one of these snow piles, resting his burnt face in his hands. Before him were farm workers, safely within their junk walls, preparing the winter crops. Sentries at the fortifications turned around and started gesturing back to Sam. He left the Fort, wrapping his coat around himself, and walked the dirt road to the front gate.

“Sir, a messenger.” said one sentry, ready to push open the door.

“Good, let him in.”

The junk doors slowly creaked open, revealing the man who braved the harsh winds. He wore animal pelts, as they all did, but with highlights of dark red symbols throughout. His cloak flapping in the wind, he barely poked his arm from his arm from its warm confines to present a rolled up note.

“Thank you.” said Sam, taking the note and skimming it over. “We’ll be there.”

The messenger nodded and turned tail, the gates closing behind him.

“What did it say?” asked the same sentry. 

“Our neighbours have requested a meeting.” responded Sam, tucking the note into his pocket.

“Think it’ll go well?”

Sam signed, “Only one way to find out.”

The day continued as they usually did, farmers working hard to crash in their beds exhausted and the hunters returning with pelts for trading and meats for dinner. The meals were cooked and enjoyed in the Fort’s courtyard, all residence mingling together. That night, they slept together on uncomfortable cots in the basement. Each family had their own shacks outside the walls but the winter winds made them unlivable.

The Sun rising and the world waking, Sam covered himself in thick leathers and pelts, gathered an entourage of trusted advisors, and left for the wasteland. Within a few hours, they stopped at the foot of a hill and huddled together.

“What’s the plan?” asked Rachel, a childhood friend of Sam’s. She had come along with her parents years after the settlement was first founded.

“Honestly, try not to piss them off.” said Sam, with a solemn expression.

“Buck up, they can’t be so bad.”

“Really, have you heard what the traders say? The Fort is all we know, it is our prime achievement, while they make it seem as though gods work for our neighbours.”

“Maybe, one day, we’ll see their grand city, but for now, it’s more likely that the traders lying to dwarf out stocks. If they didn’t think we had a stake in this world, they wouldn’t have bothered setting this up.”

“Hello there!” shouted a voice from atop the hill. All of the Fort turned and looked up to the newcomer. He was clad in furs, mounted atop a massive moose. They had seen the mutated monstrosity that moose had become but never someone atop one. The beast was big enough to feed a family for weeks. Sam waved back. This prompted more men to appear over the hill. 

Alongside the mounted figure were four others in power armour. The armour was in pristine condition, glistening in the light. Between the gaps in the protective plating, there were tufts of furs poking from within. The plates themselves were covered in winterised coating with crimson maple leaves painted on the chest and shoulders. They were absolutely immense, standing the height of the beast they walked with. Those of the Fort stared in awe, mouths agape, except for Sam. They slowly made their way down the slope, meeting on equal footing. The man on the moose, wearing a well-made proper cloak and surrounded by his hulking allies, seemed like a King meeting his peasants, covered in dirty and tattered furs. 

“We are the emissaries from Ronto. I’m Edward, second-in-command of our forces.” said the one without power armour, stepping down from his mount.

The native language of the Fort was French, but they knew enough English to survive. “I’m Sam, mayor of The Fort.” he said, shaking Edward’s hand.

“Excellent. Mind giving us a tour?”

“Gladly.” The two groups turned back east and started trekking through the snow.

“Tell me, just how many people live in Ronto?” asked Rachel, walking next to Sam.

“Oh. I’d say around ten thousand. Many are farmers but most are traders. Some are just converted raiders, serving in the army. How many live with you?” asked Edward with a kind smile.

“A few dozen. We’re all farmers, though we can take some evenings off to go hunting. A few traders stop for us, but none stay.” answered Sam.

“Modest beginnings lead to noble ends. Our city did not grow from nothing.”

“We can hope. I have heard the tales of your origins, built on the ruins of a prewar town.”

“And from the bounty of a vault.” added Rachel.

“Only when we finally settled. We had fortunate beginnings and took full advantage, as did all the others.”

Sam knew little of the factions of the wasteland, from the NCR to the Brotherhood of Steel, but he nodded along anyway. The group continued walking together, surrounded by masking snowfall, and made it to the outer fence of the Fort within the hour.

“Solid defences.” commented Edward, knocking against the junk barricade.

“We made it from scraps from the surrounding farms. And those we got from the city.” said Sam, pointing up to the automated turrets.

“Good find! How do you power them?”

“We managed to get some old generators working, they power everything else too.”

“Really? From our maps of the area, there’s a hydro dam down the river.”

“Your maps are correct, but most of the dam has crumbled away.”

“Oh, that’s all? We’ll send people to come fix it.”

“That’s very kind but -”

“It’s no problem. It would be my pleasure.”

The tour continued as usual, showing Edward and his entourage the farms and history of the Fort. They ate a communal meal of harvest and hunt before the leaders both retired to the ramparts. They stood together in the cold, shielded from the cold by their coats. In the distance, they could see the cityscape of Montreal.

“Why are you being so giving?” asked Sam, maintaining his gaze into the distance.

“As in?” responded Edward, already knowing the answer.

“You have enough forces to easily take the Fort and annexe our farms. Why offer to give us power, to even bother meeting us?”

“You know how our people are descended from Canadians who were fighting against our occupiers?” Sam nodded slightly, now making eye contact. “Well, we plan on rebuilding what Canada once was.”

Sam squinted, suspicious yet intrigued. Edward just lightly smiled. “Meaning you wish to occupy from the East to the West coasts? All that land?”

“Yes. And we need your help. We will handle the west, and you the east. You will have our full support, military, technological, and agricultural.”

“In return for?”

“Essentially, nothing.”

“Essentially?”

“We are all Canadians, our goals must be aligned. Our conditions are to expand your territory, start new colonies in the east, and maintain our defences against the South. The Fort itself is an example of our people standing against the south expanding. That conflict was the first and not the last of their attempts before the Great War. You don’t think they’ll try again? For our once great nation, our peoples must unite against this threat, as we confederated in 1867.”

While Edward spoke, Sam half listened to his propaganda speech and considered his real options. In an ideal world where he rejects any help from Ronto, they ignore his people and continue west. Much more likely, they easily annexe the Fort and continue their crusades. As well. perhaps Edward and his people see the Fort as culturally important, rather than strategically. The French were a significant minority in the country and leaders painted the country as bilingual. Ronto’s perspective could be that they need a civilised French portion of their country to return to what Canada once was.

“I will check with the others in the morning, but, you can sleep well in that I personally say yes.” said Sam, with an honest look on his face. Edward released a reassured breath and hugged his new ally. The two went down to the communal quarters and slept soundly through the night.

In the following month, Ronto sent a small team to repair the dam with a water purifier in tow. They swiftly installed it in the bay before the Fort and started work on the dam, bringing power just before Ronto’s military men arrived. It seemed as though the whole world had descended on the Fort, but it was truly a small part of the whole army. In the following years, the raiders of Montreal were assimilated by the military. They ensured to only kill when necessary and would train the new soldiers but strictly under the Fort’s overview. Their goal was to create an entity of their equal and they succeeded in forging that path.

Near the end of the lifetime of Edward and Sam, the island had been fully assimilated and was now the seat of the majority of the Fort’s peoples. The fight was not easy. Montreal was known to be a hotbed for rebellion and secession so the Americans had many power armour units stationed there. This would be useful when the war was over, but before then, the raiders were more powerful than ever before. However, they prevailed, and struck gold with the prewar military remnants left behind. While Chambly remained the governing body, the people adopted the historical title of Montreal and continued to grow and expand north and east, hand in hand with their great ally, Ronto. Taking on all comers, they stood valiantly against any enemies of their nation, taking what was once theirs and rebuilding from the glowing ashes of destruction. 


End file.
